Growing roses is a great way to enjoy the beauty and fragrance of the most romantic flowers and top bought flowers in the world. However, successfully taking care of roses is not the easiest of tasks. If you want to be good at growing them, you need to provide good care despite the weather conditions. The following tips will help you look after your roses in winter.
One of the common problems when you are growing roses is mildew. You can apply some lime sulfur or wilt proof. These will protect the flowers from the cold weather and the winds. Young squash plants should be sprayed. Another problem is the frost, which can damage your flowers. You first need to prune the plants, then clean the area around them and spray them with lime sulfur. This will protect their immune system until spring comes, when the leaves of the roses will turn green and big. A common question is when the rose bushes should be pruned. Many experts recommend spring as best time for pruning and definitely avoiding autumn. You have to prune about 10-15 inches above ground level. If you are growing shorter roses (Floribundas, Tea roses and Miniatures) you need to prune as close to the ground as possible. Many rose experts would say that you shouldn’t leave the leaves of the rose bushes in winter, but you should remove them. This can be done in late October, before the first hard frosts of the season. This reduces bacteria growth of various mold spores. After you remove the leaves, burn or discard them, but don’t add them to any compost material.
The most important task is to preserve the rose bushes from the low winter temperatures. It is a fact that roses can survive when the temperature is about 10 degrees (climbing roses can survive even lower temperature), but the average for most roses is 20 degrees and lower than that you need to take some measures. A traditional way of protecting roses from low temperatures is by mounding soil over their canes up to 20 inches high. In case that you want to move the roses before winter, make sure you do that in the early days of September. The best time is from February to May, as this allows enough time for the new roots to get attached to the soil before the colder days. Some people who make winter relocations need to move their roses in the middle of winter in order to take them, but it’s not advisable. If you are doing a fall transplanting you should add a vitamin supplement to their water. In autumn you need to check your roses to see if there are any dead ones. Often you may find that your roses produce leaves that are green and beautiful, but no flowers. When you find dead roses in your garden avoid using them in compost as they won’t do much good. In autumn is the perfect time for hardening the roses, i.e. applying a good fertilizer which will strengthen their roots and prepare them for the colder months ahead. You need to apply the fertilizer twice every month before the first hard frost. If the first frost is in late November, continue until then. The key is to prepare your roses for the freezing days and not leave anything to chance.
